Celebrating 10 years of races and America too

04. July 2016 · Write a comment · Categories: recreational fun, running, Uncategorized, vacation · Tags: , , , ,

Hi and Happy 4th of July!

The good old USA turns 240 today! But while running the other day I had a realization. I ran my very first race in 2006. (It was actually June 4th, 2006 so I’m a month late with the realization) That mean’s I’m celebrating 10 years (and 1 month) since pinning my first race bib. 🙂

first-race10 years: 7-marathons, 34-half marathons, 1-ten miler, 3-15ks, 15-10ks, 5-5 milers, 1-4.8 miler, 1-8k, and 4-5ks. And thousands of miles of training.

That realization made me smile.

My big plans for today are to try and get a short run in and then head to Road Runner Sports to try out the Asics Cumulus 18s which just came out. I currently have the 16s and before that I wore the 13s. I got an email that they are giving 20% off today for the holiday to VIP members. Woo Hoo!

I haven’t run since Friday morning.

When I set out for my run it looked like it might pour so i tied a plastic bag around my wrist in case i needed to protect my iPhone. :)

When I set out for my run it looked like it might pour so i tied a plastic bag around my wrist in case i needed to protect my iPhone. 🙂

I’m struggling with minor aches and pains and I don’t want them to get worse. So no long run this weekend. I’m going to limit all runs to 3 miles for a bit and have already introduced foam rolling, stretching and icing to my daily tasks.

This morning Mr. SOTSS’s girls wanted some kind of 4th of July themed breakfast so I tried to make a flag and some red-white and blue pancakes. Unfortunately the butter burned and left the stars on the flag unrecognizeable. A for effort though.

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It’s been really nice to have 4 days off in a row. I spent lots of time with these two:

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First time that I walked them together. And they were very good. Nobody pulled me down.

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The expressions on their faces. I die!

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Mr. SOTSS had to work Friday night through Saturday night so I kept an eye on Chester. Oh, and Duncan is all better!

I got some pretty flowers from Mr. SOTSS on Friday night….IMG_3999

And on Saturday night, even though he had only had 2 hours of sleep the night before, he rallied and we walked down the block to the lake to see a local fireworks display. We left the dogs home since Duncan really isn’t a fan of fireworks.

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Fireworks are just so much prettier in person. Photos never do them justice

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That’s all on my end. How was your weekend?

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  1. Meh
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All kinds of runs over here and 101 ways to take care of yourself

30. June 2016 · 4 comments · Categories: labradoodle, running · Tags: , , ,

Hi,

Happy Humpday.

So yesterday when I came home from work I noticed Duncan hadn’t eaten his breakfast. I took him out for a walk and he proceeded to have “the runs”. When we came home I gave him some plain rice but a little while later he threw it up. If you know anything about me I become overwhelmed with anxiety when Duncan is sick. Probably more than I should be hey, it is what it is…

I was grateful he seemed ok this morning and after ensuring he had a little water and small amount of rice (that he kept down) I left for work and anxiously waited for updates from the dog walker.

Morning eye-gazing before I left for work

Morning eye-gazing before I left for work

She said he was cheerful and that put my mind at ease for a bit but I was still anxious to get home to him.

dog walker texted me this pic

dog walker texted me this pic

And wouldn’t ya know traffic crawled and it took a solid hour to drive home.

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I saw this article today and bookmarked it: 101 ways to take care of yourself when the world feels overwhelming. I probably need 102 ways but hey, I’ll take 101. 😉

When I got home, Duncan was full of energy which was good. I took a chance and gave him some kibble and about 30 minutes later took him out. Well, let’s just say it was quite a $hitty situation. I literally pulled grass out of his a$$. (TMI??? Your welcome!) He still had the runs. I’m assuming he’s working through some gastrointestinal stuff. Luckily he’s not showing any signs of lethargy or dehydration, but if he isn’t doing better tomorrow i’ll be taking him to the vet.

Once we were back home and I knew he was ok for a bit I headed out the door for a run to relieve some of my anxiety. I started out fine but literally bonked 3 miles in so I just walked the last 3/4 of a mile home.

IMG_3954But can we talk about Adele for a minute? I’m LOVING her latest album 25.

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And now I’m curled up with the belly ache doodle who’s passing gas as I type this.

gassy, grassy a$$ doodle

gassy, grassy a$$ doodle

I’m looking forward to the long holiday weekend to recharge and reset. And hopefully the doodle will be feeling good too.

Have you ever set out to run a short distance and bonked like it was a mile 18 or 19 of a marathon? D

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Don’t waste the present worrying about the future

25. June 2016 · 2 comments · Categories: running · Tags: , , , ,

Hi and HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!!!

Hope you had a good week. After Monday night’s run I took off 3 days from running although I did walk plenty. I even took a few walks without Duncan including one after work at that park by my office.

Changed in the car. This is now becoming my new life.

Changed in the car. This is now becoming my new life.

While I love running, there’s something so effortless about walking. Not to mention I can multi-task while walking. I replied to some emails, scrolled through Instagram, made a shopping list and talked on the phone.

Tonight however I was ready for a run and in keeping my streak going I ran along the tow path for the 4th time.

First skirt appearance this year.

First skirt appearance this year.

Each time is as awesome as the previous (although the honeysuckles are not really in full bloom anymore so the glorious aroma has faded—leSigh!) Oh and today I saw this little snake.

IMG_3870But I also saw these cute mini daisies.

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The tow path is mostly crushed red clay gravel/dirt and I took a lot of it home with me on my sneakers and my ankles…

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I tried to take a real action running shot but it was too blurry

I tried to take a real action running shot but it was too blurry

I ended up getting 6 miles in before heading home to silly puppy head doodle bug shmoopsie poo

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Nothing better than coming home to this boy

Nothing better than coming home to this boy

I’m trying to make a conscious decision each day to not waste the day worrying about the future. It’s so natural for me to worry about things that might happen years from now and it’s wasting my energy that could be spent right this minute. Today was a great day….I’m off to a great start!

Random: I’ve been driving so many highway miles lately that my Subaru is now getting a Marathon (+.2) Per Gallon. And you thought MPG stood for Miles Per Gallon. HA!

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I made it through the week without any cookies, cake, pastries, ice cream or chocolate. But I did allow myself some lemon flavored sucking candies each day as my “dessert” and tonight after my run I got an iced caramel latte.

So what does your weekend look like? Busy? Chill? Whatcha doin?

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Made a few decisions

20. June 2016 · 7 comments · Categories: recreational fun, running, Uncategorized · Tags: , , , ,

Hi there.

I can’t believe it’s Monday already. I had a super fun weekend which I’ll tell you about and then I’ll tell you about a few decisions I made.

Friday night after work I went to my new favorite tow path by the office for a run. I was feeling really sluggish and sore (have I mentioned that my SI joints have been stiff the last few runs?) and took it super slow.

I actually did get a focused selfie but this one just captured the moment better

I actually did get a focused selfie but this one just captured the moment better

I even walked a lot during the last couple of miles. It was the first time I listened to a podcast while running instead of tunes. I started listening to podcasts in the car when I’m commuting and figured I’d try it out while running. It was kinda cool so I will definitely do that again.

6 miles...done and done

6 miles…done and done

Couldn't imagine running to either of these destinations but it's cool to think you could theoretically :)

Couldn’t imagine running to either of these destinations but it’s cool to think you could theoretically 🙂

Saturday, I did my usual stuff: took Duncan to the park early, did some house cleaning, shopping and then I drove to meet up with Mr. SOTSS and his girls. We saw Finding Dory which was adorable.

Good morning!

Good morning!

There was popcorn and candy but i didn't snap a picture. Half of my Reese's Pieces fell on the floor which I'm still grieving over...

There was popcorn and candy but i didn’t snap a picture. Half of my Reese’s Pieces fell on the floor which I’m still grieving over…

Sunday morning, we all ran the Girls on the Run 5k.

corral sneaker selfie

corral sneaker selfie

IMG_3805I love, love love spending time with Mr. SOTSS’ and his girls but when the fun is a 5k it makes things even better! It was super hot so we took it easy. I enjoyed the one-on-one time I had with J, Mr. SOTSS’ newly crowned teenager.

She ran through every sprinkler! It was HOT out.

She ran through every sprinkler! It was HOT out.

I have only known her for a little over a year and a half but it’s amazing how much she’s grown in that short time (in height and in maturity). I enjoyed listening to her 7th grade life stories as we ran the miles. We finished in about 41 minutes and then met up with the other half. Mr. SOTSS and his other daughter K finished in about 35 or 36 minutes I think.

IMG_3818Then it was home to shower quick and head over to my brother’s house for a Father’s day BBQ/birthday celebration for my newphew who turned 18!

Duncan loves him.

Duncan loves him.

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With no races until October, I’ve made a few decisions for the summer. I’ve gained a few pounds in the last few months and I’m feeling physically and emotionally weighed down by it lately. So I’m going to try super hard to clean up my eating habits and try and lose 7-10 pounds by Labor Day and I’m also going to scale back a bit on my running and try and do more non running things. My body needs a change for a bit. I’m hoping that I’ll do some more biking and walking. And I’m going to try and find some way to stick with a strength workout each week too. Yesterday I did a baseline on planks and pushups. Well I could only do 1 pushup and hold a plank for 30 seconds. Hard to remember the days when I could hold a plank for 2 minutes or bust out 10 pushups. So now that I’ve put this out there I’m hoping it’ll help me stick to it. I’ll report back maybe at the halfway point or maybe just at the beginning of September.

Well, my lunch hour is almost up so I’ve gotta wrap this up.

Hope you all had a great weekend and that your week is off to a good start!

Do you like to tell the world when you make plans to try and change a bad habit or lose weight or shoot for a PR or do you like to keep it to yourself?

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